Boehner backs down and drops Republican demands on debt ceiling
 |
| John Boehner. Republican leaders showed little appetite for another showdown with the White House. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP |
Republican leaders backed away from a confrontation with the White
House over the US borrowing limit, conceding on Tuesday that their party
was too divided to press their demand for concessions from the
administration in return for raising the debt ceiling.
John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House, told fellow lawmakers he would quickly bring legislation to increase the Treasury’s debt limit, without any extraneous requests attached.
The so-called “clean” debt bill, set to be put to a vote later on Tuesday, marks a capitulation from Republicans to Senate Democrats and the Obama administration, who have been insisting on the measure for weeks.
Even with Democratic support, Republicans in the House will need to muster at least 18 votes to pass the bill, which extends the Treasury’s borrowing capacity to enable it to pay debts associated with spending that Congress has already approved.
Passage of the clean debt bill had been pencilled in for Wednesday, but Boehner expedited the process because of an impending snowstorm.
That third and final vote on the debt limit extension was expected at 6.45pm on Tuesday evening, giving Republicans just a few hours to secure the backers from their party. If even a small number of Democrats vote against the legislation, passage of the bill could be complicated.
The US government has been using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to keep its accounts rolling since Friday. The Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, had warned Congress that those measures would soon expire, saying the debt ceiling would need to be raised by 27 February to avoid a possible default.
With the House due to embark on a two-week recess, that left just a handful of days to increase the debt limit or risk default. The White House steadfastly refused to negotiate with Republicans, saying they were holding the economy to ransom.
Republican leaders, conscious their party has a reputation for obstructionism – which was compounded during last October’s failed debt limit fight – showed no enthusiasm for another showdown with the White House in an election year.
Still, they openly – if half-heartedly – toyed with making approval for an extended debt ceiling contingent on a number of different proposals, such as approval of the the Keystone XL pipeline or attacks on aspects of Obama’s signature healthcare law.
Neither idea gained much traction, and on Monday night, Boehner presented a last-ditch proposal linking the debt ceiling rise to the re-introduction of military pension benefits, which had been cut from the recent budget.
By Tuesday morning, it was evident that Republicans were unwilling to rally around that idea. A GOP source confirmed that Boehner told fellow Republicans in a private meeting that he would table a vote a clean debt limit bill, a move that will require an overwhelming majority of Democrats to pass.
“You’ve all known that our members are not crazy about voting to increase the debt ceiling,” Boehner later told reporters, according to Politico. He added: “We’ll let the Democrats put the votes up; we’ll put a minimum number of votes up to get it passed.”
The saga underscores the disarray in the Republican party and mirrors Boehner’s recently stalled push for immigration reform. He and other leaders had hoped to pass measures before the summer that would enable a path to legal recognition for undocumented workers.
Top GOP legislators presented their plans at a Republican retreat last month, portraying the move necessary in order to rebrand the party and improve its appeal to Hispanic voters.
Less than a week later, Boehner conceded the pitch did not go down well with rank-and-file members, saying immigration reform “would be difficult to pass this year”.
Boehner tried to blame his immigration U-turn on lack of trust in the Obama administration. On Tuesday, he adopted a similar approach when trying to explain the debt limit surrender.
“Our members are also very upset with the president,” he said. “He won’t negotiate. He won’t deal with our long-term spending problems without us raising taxes. He won’t even sit down and discuss these issues. He’s the one driving up the debt and the question they’re asking is, why should I deal with his debt limit?”
Despite Republican infighting, Washington has experienced a flurry of bipartisan legislative progress over the past month, passing the budget, appropriations and farm bills in relatively quick succession.
Presuming the debt limit legislation passes – which is not guaranteed, given the strength of GOP opposition to a clean bill and the limited time needed to find the votes – Congress should have created the space for other, non-essential legislation in the spring.
However, with the midterm elections nine months away, Republicans do not want to rock the boat with bills that could prove politically unpopular with their base.
John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House, told fellow lawmakers he would quickly bring legislation to increase the Treasury’s debt limit, without any extraneous requests attached.
The so-called “clean” debt bill, set to be put to a vote later on Tuesday, marks a capitulation from Republicans to Senate Democrats and the Obama administration, who have been insisting on the measure for weeks.
Even with Democratic support, Republicans in the House will need to muster at least 18 votes to pass the bill, which extends the Treasury’s borrowing capacity to enable it to pay debts associated with spending that Congress has already approved.
Passage of the clean debt bill had been pencilled in for Wednesday, but Boehner expedited the process because of an impending snowstorm.
That third and final vote on the debt limit extension was expected at 6.45pm on Tuesday evening, giving Republicans just a few hours to secure the backers from their party. If even a small number of Democrats vote against the legislation, passage of the bill could be complicated.
The US government has been using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to keep its accounts rolling since Friday. The Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, had warned Congress that those measures would soon expire, saying the debt ceiling would need to be raised by 27 February to avoid a possible default.
With the House due to embark on a two-week recess, that left just a handful of days to increase the debt limit or risk default. The White House steadfastly refused to negotiate with Republicans, saying they were holding the economy to ransom.
Republican leaders, conscious their party has a reputation for obstructionism – which was compounded during last October’s failed debt limit fight – showed no enthusiasm for another showdown with the White House in an election year.
Still, they openly – if half-heartedly – toyed with making approval for an extended debt ceiling contingent on a number of different proposals, such as approval of the the Keystone XL pipeline or attacks on aspects of Obama’s signature healthcare law.
Neither idea gained much traction, and on Monday night, Boehner presented a last-ditch proposal linking the debt ceiling rise to the re-introduction of military pension benefits, which had been cut from the recent budget.
By Tuesday morning, it was evident that Republicans were unwilling to rally around that idea. A GOP source confirmed that Boehner told fellow Republicans in a private meeting that he would table a vote a clean debt limit bill, a move that will require an overwhelming majority of Democrats to pass.
“You’ve all known that our members are not crazy about voting to increase the debt ceiling,” Boehner later told reporters, according to Politico. He added: “We’ll let the Democrats put the votes up; we’ll put a minimum number of votes up to get it passed.”
The saga underscores the disarray in the Republican party and mirrors Boehner’s recently stalled push for immigration reform. He and other leaders had hoped to pass measures before the summer that would enable a path to legal recognition for undocumented workers.
Top GOP legislators presented their plans at a Republican retreat last month, portraying the move necessary in order to rebrand the party and improve its appeal to Hispanic voters.
Less than a week later, Boehner conceded the pitch did not go down well with rank-and-file members, saying immigration reform “would be difficult to pass this year”.
Boehner tried to blame his immigration U-turn on lack of trust in the Obama administration. On Tuesday, he adopted a similar approach when trying to explain the debt limit surrender.
“Our members are also very upset with the president,” he said. “He won’t negotiate. He won’t deal with our long-term spending problems without us raising taxes. He won’t even sit down and discuss these issues. He’s the one driving up the debt and the question they’re asking is, why should I deal with his debt limit?”
Despite Republican infighting, Washington has experienced a flurry of bipartisan legislative progress over the past month, passing the budget, appropriations and farm bills in relatively quick succession.
Presuming the debt limit legislation passes – which is not guaranteed, given the strength of GOP opposition to a clean bill and the limited time needed to find the votes – Congress should have created the space for other, non-essential legislation in the spring.
However, with the midterm elections nine months away, Republicans do not want to rock the boat with bills that could prove politically unpopular with their base.
0 Response to "Boehner backs down and drops Republican demands on debt ceiling"
Post a Comment